Thursday, September 24, 2009

Hey there, everyone! Cliff's got a show on Sunday! (September 27th). All of these shows run at the Plainville V.F.W. Hall- 7 Northwest Dr. (Route 10) from 10 AM to 3 PM. 99 CENT ADMISSION, CHILDREN UNDER 10 ARE FREE! I'll be there with the rest of the gang from Free Lunch Studiosselling comics, conducting portfolio reviews and giving demos of some of the classes we offer at our office Granby CT.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

On Monday September 15th, the Free Lunch Studios Monday Night Jammers started drawing our contributions for Wonder Woman Day 4. In past years, Wonder Woman Day I-III has raised over $69,000 for Domestic Violence Shelters and Crisis Lines in Portland, Oregon and Flemington, NJ. Last night, Monday September 21st, we collected pieces from David Davies, Yuko Salvadori, Norman Katz, Chris Jennison, James Rodriguez and myself to donate to the cause. Well done!

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Just a few days over three years ago, I remember we were in the waiting room of my wife's doctor's office. I was sitting next to Leigh Ann thankfully sketching in one of my art books. I say thankfully because their sound system was constantly replaying a Hanson song over and over and over again. We were finally called in to see the Doctor and after a few minutes we were surprised to find out that we were going to the hospital immediately to have our first child.

Here's the pic from the waiting room. Ava and I talked about it and her name is K'nixy Rolla. David and I are already planning to place her in a Black Roses story. To be continued....

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

I'm hosting a special workshop October 31st, Halloween Day, called King Of The Monster Mountain! I will teach a new special creature creation workshop for all ages that runs from 10 am until noon! Who will have the scariest? Who made most disgusting? Whose will win King Of The Monster Mountain?

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Yesterday was the end of the current sessions of Cartoon Anatomy and Comic Book Storytelling. Good classes. The final day of Cartoon Anatomy we do a character design exercise. These are the ones I did for the class...fun! New classes start again September 19th! See freelunchstudios.com for more info.

Friday, September 4, 2009

AVON - Organizers of Farmington Valley Arts Center's annual juried show were supposed to have been hanging works of some 40 to 50 artists Thursday in preparation for the exhibit set to open next week. Instead, board member Martha Crawford spent the morning sending e-mails and making phone calls to artists, donors and many friends of the nonprofit.

Center offices will close effective immediately and all scheduled classes and exhibits — including the juried show — are canceled pending completion of a "strategic restructuring," according to an announcement issued by the group Thursday.

"We need to take a step back based on what's been a difficult economic time for us," Crawford said. "It's just gotten to a point where we can't go forward any more. The funds are just not there right now."

The Avon-based nonprofit owns and occupies two buildings in an old Ensign Bickford factory complex on Route 44 behind Avon's town offices and police department. Twenty to 25 artists share studio space there, but the 37-year-old group also runs a summer camp, retail gallery, exhibition space and outreach programs.

The center's operating revenue comes from rent artists pay on studios, retails sales and tuition from its camp. With fewer people buying art, retails sales have suffered and enrollment in the summer camp this year were among the lowest in the camp's nine-year history, Crawford said.

The board approved the closing Tuesday in order to regroup and look at alternative ways to keep the organization viable, she said. Once a new business model has been found, they plan to resume operation, Crawford said.

Worcester Center for Crafts recently underwent a similar reorganization that the FVAC board members plan to look at closely. That center closed late last year under similar circumstances but recently reopened under a partnership agreement with Worcester State College.

"They are a model, yes," Crawford said. "We need to talk to them and really look at it."

Artist's studios at the arts center will remain open, despite the shutdown of the retail gallery and camp, Crawford said. She could not say when other operations would resume.

"This is a very uncomfortable thing to have to do today," said Crawford, her voice choked with emotion, but "at the end of the day [we] will come out stronger."

- taken from the Hartford Courant website

This is a tough hit. I remember working at my "fake" job some eight years ago. It's hard to believe it was really that long ago. I had left my cubicle to head down for some lunch, where I would actually draw for a half an hour because I had already eaten at my desk. As I was approaching the cafeteria I would pass over the lobby. The Farmington Valley Arts Center was given space at this company to display and promote the center so I thought I would go down to investigate. This was a big moment for me. I had examples of my work with me. It was too good to pass up. I met with Jim Brunnelle and he got me an interview with the head of the teaching department, Pat Parker. Everything after that was great. Here I was, hired to teach cartooning for some other business and it was a business with a great reputation. I was immediately lumped in with a huge talent pool. What an honor. To be able to work with Jim, Pat, Chris and most recently Marty...a group of people that I will always hold the highest regard for. Let's hope the closing/restructure does what it needs to do...and if there is a place for me in the Arts Center's future, I hope they'll have me.Thank you all for the opportunity,Matt

IN THE MEANTIME, I WILL CONTINUE TO RUN THE DRAWING AND PAINTING CLASS FROM MY STUDIO, FREE LUNCH STUDIOS, TEN MINUTES NORTH IN GRANBY CT. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, FEEL FREE TO CHECK OUT WWW.FREELUNCHSTUDIOS.COM

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Are you a cartoonist or comic artist that lives in the area? The 24 Hour Comic challenge is a great event. We're going to start the challenge at noon, Saturday October 3rd and it'll end at noon Sunday October 4th. See the 24 Hour Comic Day and Free Lunch Studios websites for more info.

Matt C Ryan is a freelance cartoonist and comic book artist whose work spans from the comics industry to package design and advertising.

Since first being published with a pinup in an issue of Batton Lash's "Wolff and Byrd, Counselors of the Macabre" from Exhibit A Press, Matt has hit the ground running. He is creator and artist on the comic, BIGGER, published by Free Lunch Comics. Additional stories, characters, and sequential art appear in other titles from Free Lunch Comics as well as numerous other comics from Crazy Mama Studios, Guild Works Productions, Radbu Productions, and Blindwolf Studios. His larger body of work includes cartoons for a number of magazine ads and package and character designs for such clients as Dornenburg Design and Mark Lewis Creative Arts.

Matt has already been honored and recognized by a number of professional organizations. Matt was a member of the Farmington Valley Arts Center faculty for seven years and was named Master Teaching Artist by the Greater Hartford Arts Council. Shortly after joining the Comic Book Artists Guild, he was nominated head of the Connecticut branch and held that position until he stepped down in 2008. He remained a member until early 2009. In April 2008 at the New York ComicCon, he received the first-ever CAG award for production excellence. At the 2009 New York Comic Con CAG Awards, Matt received the Best Cartoonist and Best Workshop awards. Also, he was juried into the Granby Artists Association, a network of fine artists that partake in galleries, fundraisers, and mentoring activities. In 2011, he received the honors of President of the Granby Artists Association and the Head of the New England Chapter of the Comic Book Artists Guild.

Matt is happily married to the love of his life, Leigh Ann and they are parents to their beautiful girls, Ava and Alaina.